New Apartments Going Up On Shores of Lady Bird Lake

An artist's rendering of the view from a new development under construction near the intersection of I-35 and Riverside Drive.

Photo by BOKA Powell

If you were wondering what they were building in the northeast corner of the I-35 and Riverside Drive intersection, wonder no more! Developers announced today the construction of what they are calling the “first high-rise residential development” on the southern shores of Lady Bird Lake.

The development is called RiverView. It’s 280,000 square foot project with 302 apartments. Developers are seeking a LEED Silver rating with the building’s water saving plumbing fixtures, use of recycled materials, storm water collection, and other environmentally friendly features.

But some people would rather not see a large apartment building built on the edge of Lady Bird Lake.

“As very high structures come closer and closer to the shoreline, you get a canyon effect,” Save Town Lake board president Michael Hirsh said, criticizing an “encroachment on open space.”

“And then you’re bringing more people into their automobiles into the roadways surrounding those areas,” he said.

BOKA Powell, the architecture firm that designed RiverView, says they made a concerted effort to reduce the environmental impact on the lake.

"We went to great lengths to protect the Lady Bird Lake watershed by placing all parking in an underground garage and covering it with an unusually deep roof garden system that mixes plantings, filtration media, and pervious hardscape elements," BOKA project designer Nathan Wilcox said in a press release.

The building is scheduled to open in the spring of 2013.

Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified the units as condominiums, but they are in fact apartment units that will be for rent, not for sale.